Generally the successful bioprocessing of cells, such as stem cells, relies on robust and reproducible culture conditions and processes. For example, both in vivo and in vitro, differentiation and self-renewal of stem cells or pluripotent cells may be dominated by signals from their surrounding microenvironment. Identification of purity and differentiation stages of stem cells can be one of the greatest challenges of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. The existing methods to carefully monitor and characterize cells have some unwanted effects on the properties of stem cells, and these methods also do not provide real-time information about cellular conditions. For example, standard biological assays to analyze stem cells often involve fixation, staining, and/or drying steps that destroy cellular characteristics, and cannot provide real time information about natural life process of the cells. Thus, improvements in these and other areas would be an advancement in the art.
Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.